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The Seattle Seahawks defense is holding opponents to 14 points per game, the best in the league for teams with five games under their belt. They are holding teams to 17 first downs per game ( the Pats racked up 35 against Denver).

They have sacked opposing quarterbacks 16 times (3.3/game) including eight sacks of Aaron Rodgers in one half!

Seattle is holding opponents to 67 yards rushing/game.

This came against the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams, a representative sample of quality and styles of play.

They beat the Packers 14-12 in the ugliest game possible, both visually and statistically (Rodgers sacked 8 times? In one half of football? Really!?)

That game was also a catastrophe penalty-wise: the Packers were called for 10 penalties and the Seahawks for 14.

The Seahawks play dirty - in the Packers game, 6 of their 10 penalties were of the facemask, unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness variety. It was replacement refereeing and that game got completely out of control. But this is a nasty defense.

The little bit of them I have seen - I will call them the real deal. This is not the only season they have been good. This will be a tough game - made tougher since it is in their home. Will probably look a lot like the Arizona game with the potential to be worse. This one has me worried a bit.

They did a great job against Rodgers, but Rodgers has been struggling this year. Lost to the Cardinals and Rams, barely beat the Panthers. Their defense is good but our offense is just as good. The offenses that they've faced so far - the Patriots are better at every aspect. Our fast no-huddle will give us the advantage.

From what I've seen their D is solid and something to be concerned about. If anyone can find their weaknesses and expose them it would be BB and Brady. My biggest worry is the O-Line's inability to protect Brady in this game. Hopefully they can utilize the run-game in conjunction with the TE's. Hopefully Hernandez is back too.

Romo put up 27 points on them. They did a great job against Rodgers, but Rodgers has been struggling this year. Lost to the Cardinals and Rams, barely beat the Panthers. Their defense is good but our offense is just as good.

They have looke like a superb defense each time I've watched them. It will be a tough game, later in the week I'll release my 5 keys to victory which are always a doozy and should do a fine job breaking down how exactly we need to attack this game.

Red Bryant in the game - no huddle, short passes/screens he isn't going to last long before getting gassed with the up tempo style we saw Sunday

Bruce Irvin in the game - no huddle, run it right down his throat, he isn't big enough to be able to cope with being steam rolled by Gronk & a tackle constantly.

None of the teams they've faced play as fast as the Patriots...and c'mon Cardinals & Rams? The Cards did nothing on offense against the Pats and the Rams have no WRs and Schotty jr as OC, hardly offensive power houses, those 2 teams will have helped the defensive ranking of the Seahawks a lot, they're a good defense but not as good as the stats show.

None of the teams they've faced play as fast as the Patriots...and c'mon Cardinals & Rams? The Cards did nothing on offense against the Pats and the Rams have no WRs and Schotty jr as OC, hardly offensive power houses, those 2 teams will have helped the defensive ranking of the Seahawks a lot, they're a good defense but not as good as the stats show.

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I would agree with that.

Whether or not the Packers are struggling or not, when you hold Rodgers & Co to 12 points, that's a serious win defensively. And when is the last time you saw the Cowboys held to 7 points?

They did a great job against Rodgers, but Rodgers has been struggling this year. Lost to the Cardinals and Rams, barely beat the Panthers. Their defense is good but our offense is just as good. The offenses that they've faced so far - the Patriots are better at every aspect. Our fast no-huddle will give us the advantage.

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There are a number of big differences between the Pats' offense and the Packers:

1. The Green Bay OL has been very porous, as was the case this week against Indy. The Pats OL is much, much better.

2. The Pats have a totally different dimension in the running game.

3. The fast up-tempo pace of the Pats' offense will maek it difficult for Seattle to substitute, may create confusion, and will hopefully tire the defense out.

4. The Pats' offense is much more physical than Green Bay, especially with the multiple TE sets.

Seattle will be a very tough matchup. They and SF are probably the 2 best defenses in the NFL. But I think our offense can match up with anyone if they execute.

Green Bay has Rodgers, sure....good receivers, too.....but they also lack any semblance of a run game....pin your ears back and go get 'em....#19 rush offense

same thing with Zona v(#29 rushing offense), except they lack a good QB

same with Dallas - #30 rushing offense

all 3 of these teams are 20th or worse in rushing attempts...St. Louis is very marginally better, but lacks the passing attack....carolina is also middle of the road.....and again, carolina is in the bottom 3rd for passing teams

the patriots are the number one overall offensive team, top 5 rushing and top 10 passing.....and may be getting another weapon back......

Seattle D IS good....but they have yet to faced a balanced, explosive offense, arguably the best in the league in those regards.....if they can hold this team under 20 points i'd be impressed.....but i don't see that happening

the biggest battle will be the crowd noise......can they run their fast paced no-huddle with the noise.....i suspect they have been prepping for this and it won't be that big an issue

Seattle D IS good....but they have yet to faced a balanced, explosive offense, arguably the best in the league in those regards.....if they can hold this team under 20 points i'd be impressed.....but i don't see that happening

the biggest battle will be the crowd noise......can they run their fast paced no-huddle with the noise.....i suspect they have been prepping for this and it won't be that big an issue

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Arizona did, in your building without the hostile crowd noise. Who is to say Seattle can't do the same, and WITH hostile crowd noise?

But I think 20 is the magic number. If the Pats score more than that, they will win. If the Seahawks can keep them under 20, then they have a shot.

I haven't gone back to watch every Seattle game yet, but from those I have seen the answer is a resounding yes - Seattle's defense is as good as the stats make them appear to be. They're better than Arizona, Baltimore, Denver or any other defense the Pats have faced so far this season. I don't know if they're the best defense in the NFL, but they're certainly in the conversation alongside the Texans and 49ers - regardless of what teams they have and have not played against. They have a good pass rush and are excellent against the run.

As good as the Pats offense is, this game is going to be a tough one for the Patriots to win; it could easily go either way.

I get the feeling that this game will be similar to facing the Jets in previous years (back when they had a good defense). Our offense may struggle but will likely not be completely stopped while their offense will struggle to keep pace. Slowing down our offense won't be enough for them to win. They have to be able to score points as well (obviously). They will have to hold us to single digits to prevail.